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--Nicholas Peddle

School reviews may get reprieve | The Advocate – State Superintendent of Education John White wants to prevent big drops in school ratings as tougher Common Core standards are introduced. He proposes a maximum drop of one letter grade for schools next year.

Bobby Jindal Dupes John Boehner on Destroying Desegregation | CenLamar – Blogger Lamar White sees political gamesmanship in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice, which believes the state’s school voucher system conflicts with desegregation in some districts. “Make no mistake: Bobby Jindal wasn’t shocked or stunned by the Department of Justice’s decision to file a motion; Bobby Jindal was setting them up for this. With his abysmal poll numbers and with his voucher program already under siege by state courts, a lawsuit from the Obama administration on desegregation was, politically, a no-brainer.”

Criminal Justice

Danziger ruling prompts Nagin challenge; others will likely follow | The New Orleans Advocate – In light of the expanding comment scandal involving the local U.S. Attorney’s Office, former mayor Ray Nagin’s attorney makes a compelling point: “Until the full factual backdrop is revealed by the Department of Justice, including actions by personnel in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, it is impossible to discern the extent of prosecutorial misconduct affecting Mr. Nagin.”

The decision to rely more on the mats was announced by an official with the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East at its monthly meeting Thursday. The decision came after repeated complaints from state and regional levee authority officials about earlier proposals to rely on just grass or “enhanced” grass — Bermuda grass that would be carefully watered and fertilized to encourage root growth — to halt erosion on large sections of the levees when they are topped during major hurricanes.

The administrator who oversees safe drinking water for Louisiana said St. Bernard Parish’s water supply has not been under any recent state enforcement orders prompted by low chlorine levels, because the parish’s water has tested positive for traceable amounts of disinfectants over the last several years.

Jackson’s new mayor is a former vice president of the RNA [Republic of New Afrika] and a co-founder of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), a national group born in 1993 that seeks self-determination for African-Americans — whom it calls New Afrikans — “by any means necessary.” Like many shaped by the Black Power era, Lumumba long shunned formal politics, until a successful run for City Council in 2009. Now, as mayor, he is seeking to apply the tenets of the black radical tradition to the duties of running a city.

Land Use

Councilwoman Susan Guidry, who was elected in 2010 to hold the District A seat representing parts of Mid-City, Carrollton, Uptown and Lakeview, wasn’t concerned only about how many blighted properties still remain in the city. She also wanted to know if the process of tearing down those properties has also improved.

Mark Moseley blogs at Your Right Hand Thief. Until mid 2014, Mark Moseley was The Lens' opinion writer, engagement specialist and coordinator for the Charter Schools Reporting Corps. After Katrina and the Federal Flood he helped create the Rising Tide conference, which grew into an annual social media event dedicated to the future of New Orleans.